USS Discovery (NCC-71021)
The USS Discovery (NCC-71021) was a 24th century Federation Galaxy-class Starship operated by Starfleet. The vessel became famous after completing a seven year (2370-2377) mission in the Gamma Quadrant, the first successful exploration of that quadrant by the Federation. Discovery was destroyed during the Battle of Altamid IV in 2378. History Construction and launch Discovery was built at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards orbiting Mars in the Sol System. The construction was a massive undertaking, involving thousands of people across disciplines. Construction was supervised by Commander Mark Callaghan. Dr. Leah Brahams was responsible for much of Discovery's warp propulsion system design. The ship's port nacelle tube was the site of a multiple murder while she was still under construction at Utopia Planitia. A member of the construction team, became jealous when he discovered his lover was having an affair. He killed the two officers, Marsha and Adam, then hid Marsha's body in a bulkhead and disposed of Adam's in the plasma stream, leaving a telepathic imprint on the same bulkhead that was not discovered until 2377. On Stardate 43758.5, in the year 2366, Discovery was launched from Mars. On Stardate 44027.4, Discovery was commissioned. Final systems completion and shakedown was conducted at Earth Station McKinley. Captain Sharon Tyson took command of the ship on Stardate 44148.4 at the order of Vice Admiral Wallace. Early years In 2367, at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, Captain Jemison boarded Discovery for the first time while in drydock. Vice Admiral Wallace greeted Jemison as she came aboard. After a tour of the ship, Discovery departed drydock for a trial run. However, Discovery was the only ship in range capable of responding to a distress call from two Cardassian ships. The ships had been trapped in an energy distortion. Discovery was only able to rescue 57 Cardassian crewmembers before both ships were destroyed. The medical staff treated the surviving Cardassians, including Sahara, future Cardassian spy. Discovery itself became ensnared in the distortion when she maneuvered into transported range. One crewman devised a plan to fire a photon torpedo in order to simulate a antimatter explosion and free Discovery. Jemison went to the torpedo bay to make necessary modifications as Discovery's engineering hull was struck by an energy trendrill. Discovery escaped with minor casualties and a hull breach on along sections 30 through 38 on decks 23 through 25. The Gamma Quadrant Beginnings in the Gamma Quadrant Conflict with the Jem'Hadar Journey of Discovery Time travel In 2371, Jemison and crew traveled back in time to 1944 during World War II in an attempt to stop Darvin Decker from foiling the Allies' Normandy invasion and changing the course of the war and history. During which a German spy learned the crew's true origin and tried to steal their technology. The crew managed to stop both the spy and Decker before any notable damage was made. In 2374, Discovery traveled in time to 2268 through a time rift, in an attempt to stop a changeling agent from destroying the USS Enterprise and changing the timeline. Tyson worked with James T. Kirk to stop the changeling without any notable damage. Commander Dax found a way to recreate the time rift and return Discovery and its crew their own time. In late 2375, Discovery was trapped in a temporal causality loop near the Expanse. Each cycle ended in a catastrophic collision with the USS Bradbury, destroying the Discovery. Feelings of deja vu allowed the Discovery crew to gather clues which allowed them to send a message into the next loop and avoid the collision. The ship spent a total of 18.7 days repeating the same interval of time. The Dominion The Borg Contact with Starfleet Missions Project Relay The Exeter In 2373, Discovery responded to a Federation distress call from the starship USS Exeter, commanded by Captain Ralph Emmson. The vessel was on a survey mission in the Gamma Quadrant when the war began. The Exeter was severely damaged from attacks by the Jem'Hadar and most of its crew were either dead or injured. The Discovery crew provided medical aid to the crew and assisted in repairs. As repairs were underway when a Jem'Hadar sqaudron attacked. The Discovery tried to provide cover for the damaged Exeter, but to no avail. Captain Emmson managed to beam a few surviving crewmembers to Discovery, but the first officer and a few others were killed. After the crew were evacuated, the Exeter was destroyed killing Emmson. With the Exeter destroyed, the surviving crewmembers now served as crewmen aboard Discovery. The return home In 2377, While exploring the Omarion Nebula, Discovery encountered Borg sphere 274, the same sphere launched from the Borg cube. Sphere 274 locked on Discovery with its tractor beam, draining the ship's shields. Discovery struggled to severe the beam, ultimately breaking free after three phaser attacks. The sphere continued to attack Discovery, firing beams and projectile weaponry. The sphere was finally destroyed after an way team detonated an explosive devise inside it. By the end of the battle, Discovery had sustained heavy damage. Deck 36 had been compressed after a beam damaged the engineering hull. The saucer suffered damage to its impulse drive and decks 18 through 20 had been breached. Due to the extent of the damage, Discovery finally returned to the Alpha Quadrant after seven years, arriving at Deep Space 9. Arriving on Earth, the Discovery crew received a celebratory welcome from Starfleet command. Commander Bridger and the other Maquis crew were allowed to remain in Starfleet. Discovery underwent repairs and a full refit at Earth Station McKinley, which lasted five to six weeks. Several systems were upgraded and a new warp core. In 2378, Discovery would serve a diplomatic role, conducting diplomatic missions with species that played a role in the Dominion War, such conducting a diplomatic mission with the Bajorans. Discovery would also conduct diplomatic missions with species in the Gamma Quadrant, such as the Dominion. Later that year, Discovery and 27 other Starfleet vessels converged on a transwarp conduit that had opened less than a lightyear away from Earth. Admiral Owen Paris ordered the fleet to use all necessary force to any Borg vessels that emerge. A Borg sphere emerged from the collapsing conduit in front of the fleet. The ships Immediately opened fire but caused no significant damage. Suddenly the sphere exploded leaving the fleet and officers at Starfleet Communications dumbfounded. Suddenly, the USS Voyager emerged from the explosion, having returned to the Alpha Quadrant after spending seven years in the Delta Quadrant. Discovery and the fleet escorted Voyager back to Earth. Destruction of Discovery An engagement with a renegade Klingon Bird-of-Prey commanded by the Doran sisters in 2378 resulted in extensive damage to Discovery. The ship's magnetic interlocks were ruptured, and before efforts could be made to repair them, a coolant leak began. Discovery was just five minutes away from a warp core breach and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Faced with this scenario, Captain Tyson ordered the evacuation of the crew from the secondary hull to the saucer section. Once the evacuation had been completed, the saucer could separate and get to a safe distance before the stardrive section was destroyed by the core breach. K'Denna and Dr. McAllister oversaw evacuations of their respective departments and completed with one minute to spare. The saucer's impulse engines were engaged as soon as it cleared the secondary hull, but the saucer was unable to get to a safe distance before the core breached. The explosion produced a shock wave that disabled the helm controls and propelled the saucer into a degraded orbit of Altamid IV, forcing the saucer into the planet's atmosphere. With the saucer hurtling towards the surface of the planet, Dax managed to reroute the auxiliary systems to the lateral thrusters and thereby restore thruster control, which, in lieu of the disabled impulse engines, she could use to level their decent. Tyson called for all hands to brace for impact and, moments later, the saucer crash-landed on the planet's surface, leaving a large trail of destruction many kilometers long in its wake. Owing to its relatively safe landing, the Discovery's casualties were minimal. Unfortunately, severe damage sustained by the primary hull in the battle and subsequent crash landing rendered the ship unsalvageable. The ship's crew was rescued by the USS Phoenix, along with an Excelsior-class ship and a Nova-class ship. Legacy Commander Bridger was upset over the loss of the Discovery, since it's kept them together. Though Jemison expressed her thoughts saying "I've been a captain for fourteen years, most of them was with Discovery." she expressed doubt that Discovery would be the last vessel to carry the name. Discovery was so dear to her crew that, much of them resigned or considered resigning from Starfleet. Vice Admiral William Ross expressed regret on the loss of Discovery and offered condolences over the destruction of the ship to Jemison, saying that Discovery "was the ship that united the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants." Captain Tyson's belief that Discovery would not be the last ship to bear the name was borne out with the christening of the Sovereign-class USS Discovery-A, the following year. In that instance, the legacy of Discovery continued with Jemison reprising her role as CO and selecting the former crew from Discovery, with the notable exception of Doctor McAllister who had been reassigned. Crew As of 2370, some seventeen species were represented among the 1,014 members of the ship's complement, at that time including Betazoid, Bajoran, El-Aurian, Vulcan, and Human. With the addition of the Maquis, the crew complement rose. As of 2378, there were crewmembers from non-Federation worlds. The ship also carried dolphins in the aquatics lab. A Jem'Hadar attack during its transfer into the Gamma Quadrant was costly for the crew. Over a dozen crew members were killed including the original first officer, chief engineer, and transporter chief. However over the course of her journey, Discovery gained crew members from species indigenous to the Gamma Quadrant such as Telpan, Rakhari, Yaderan Tess. Former Borg drones such as Two of Eight also joined the crew during Discovery's encounters with the Borg. In 2374, Discovery also received several surviving crew members from the starship USS Exeter. Although Starfleet and Maquis crewmembers staffed the vital positions on board Discovery, civilian crewmembers were allowed to hold important jobs in the ship's science and medical departments, as well as support area like Ten Forward and the ship's school and arboretum. Discovery also included children among the civilians on board. Crew evaluations were conducted every three months, and were supervised by Executive Officer Cyrus Bridger and Counselor Carol Price. Command crew * Commanding officer ** Sharon Tyson (2367-2378) * First officer ** Hudson (2367-2370) * Second officer/operation manager/science officer ** * Tactical officer/security chief ** * Chief engineer ** * Chief medical officer ** Sarah Thacker (2367-2370) ** John McAllister (2370-2378) * Counselor ** Carol Price (2367-2378) * Flight controller (conn) ** Alex Thacker (2370-2378) * Transporter chief ** Category:Federation starships Category:Galaxy class starships